Sculpture refers to affection for city

Friday

Aug 30, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 30, 2013 at 9:39 AM

Conversations with Columbus residents left artist Lawrence Argent with one dominant impression: People here love where they live. "I felt this very endearing component of emotion that was attached to the city," said the Denver resident, who was hired to create a piece of public art for near North Bank Park.

Amy Saunders, The Columbus Dispatch

Conversations with Columbus residents left artist Lawrence Argent with one dominant impression: People here love where they live.

“I felt this very endearing component of emotion that was attached to the city,” said the Denver resident, who was hired to create a piece of public art for near North Bank Park.

His thoughts after a site visit last year: “How do I make something that is amorous and showing the affection?”

The answer became Flowing Kiss, a pair of 15-foot sculptures that feature puckered lips made from billowing sheets of stainless steel on a base of black granite and white marble.

Installed this week on opposite sides of Neil Avenue in the grassy median between Long and Spring streets, the piece represents the first public-art commission for Columbus in at least 25 years.

Much of the public art in Columbus parks and other spaces was privately funded.The city itself hasn’t sought artwork in such a long time that no one seems to remember the last project, said Lori Baudro, a program coordinator with the city’s planning division.

The Columbus Arts Commission existed without purpose for decades before finally convening in 2007.Since then, as the city focuses on the Downtown and Scioto River areas, the seven-member commission has overseen several public-art projects for the city — starting with Finding Time, a collection of temporary art that commemorated the Columbus bicentennial last year.

Flowing Kiss, which cost $250,000 to design and install, is the result of a juried competition that attracted 64 proposals. Members of a commission-appointed panel chose Argent, best-known for creating a 40-foot blue bear that peers into the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

In June, the Columbus City Council allocated $281,000 for Scioto Lounge, a collection of humanlike bronze deer by a Santa Fe, N.M., artist that will be installed as soon as next year on the riverbank behind COSI Columbus.

Both projects stemmed from the Miranova tax-increment financing agreement, which funds development projects in the Scioto Mile area.

On a smaller scale, the arts commission has been working with central Ohio artists on two projects for 2014: Franklinton Gateways, the creation of neighborhood entryways on Town and Rich streets; and nine bike racks to be installed on city property.

“It’s the beginning of a vital and exciting chapter of public art in Columbus,” said Diane Nance, chairwoman of the Columbus Arts Commission.

The new city-commissioned public art, in addition to private projects such as the Columbiad sculpture planned for the Scioto Mile, can boost Columbus tourism — the way Chicago visitors are drawn to Cloud Gate (“The Bean”), said Jami Goldstein, spokeswoman for the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

“We hope that it becomes an intrinsic part of Columbus,” she said.

As Argent worked on the installation this week, many passers-by told him that Flowing Kiss is cool — then asked, “What is it?”

Though amused, he isn’t inclined to divulge his answer, preferring that people interpret the piece on their own.

“I think that’s where the magic of art lies,” he said — “especially public art.”